In soil-sampling tools for retrieving soil samples at the bottom of a bored hole, it is known to fasten the sampling tube to a head support which, in turn, is supported through connecting drill rods to the ground surface. The sample tube is pushed into the soil at the bottom of the hole by applying a downward pressure on the connecting rods.
A number of fastening arrangements have been utilized to assemble the soil sampling tube to the head support. Among early arrangements, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,456,983, issued to Charles C. Hansen on May 29, 1923, the sampling tube has been connected through a pin mounted on the head support which engaged in bayonet joint fashion with a slot in the tube. In more recent arrangements, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,040, issued to William P. Henson on Mar. 28, 1978, the sampling tube has been connected to the head support through a plurality of cap screws. These past arrangements have had disadvantages in manufacture, assembly operation and wear. For example, with bayonet slot arrangements, slot cutting of the tube and pin mounting to the head support has been comparatively complex in manufacture and in assembly and disassembly. Cap screws have required threading holes in the head support. The inserting, screwing and unscrewing the cap screws for assembly and disassembly of the several parts is time consuming. The cap screws tend to be lost or misplaced, because they are relatively small and four have been required. Furthermore, soil has tended to clog the threaded holes and to get into the threads on the cap screws, so that the cap screws either bind in the holes or at least the holes and screws have to be cleaned before the cap screws are inserted.
The present invention, recognizing these past disadvantages, provides an improved, straightforward assembly structure for a soil sampling tube and head support therefor which avoids the use of previously required small and difficult to handle parts and which is both economical and relatively easy to manufacture, fast and easy to assemble and disassemble, and easy to maintain. Various other features of the present invention will become obvious to one skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth herein.